The Interior Ministry is claiming that Human Rights Watch is trying to work in Egypt illegally.
The ministry made the remarks in a press release after HRW said that Egyptian authorities refused to allow Executive Director Kenneth Roth and Middle East and North Africa Director Sarah Leah Whitson entry into the country on Monday. The group added that Egyptian authorities banned its report on the mass killings in July and August 2013.
“HRW had earlier filed a request to Egyptian authorities to hold a meeting with Egyptian officials during their visit in August to issue a report over the dispersal of Rabaa al-Adaweya and Nahda sit-ins,” the ministry said. “The organization was notified to postpone the visit until September since the timing was inappropriate.”
The ministry told the group it was necessary to receive a visa in advance from the Egyptian embassy saying it was illegal to access the country via a tourist visa, since the organization's declared purpose is different from the status of the visa.
Officials also indicated that HRW had earlier withdrew its request demanding the required permission to work in Egypt as an NGO, however, it tried to access Egypt to issue the report and work without a legal basis.
Edited translation from Al-Masry Al-Youm
